What is a Breeder?
A Breeder is one who thirsts for knowledge and never
really knows it all,
one who wrestles with decisions of conscience,
convenience, and commitment.
A Breeder is one who sacrifices personal interests,
finances, time,
friendships, fancy furniture, and deep pile carpeting!
She gives up the
dreams of a long, luxurious cruise
in favour of turning that all important
Show into this years "vacation".
The Breeder goes without sleep (but never
without coffee!)
in hours spent planning a breeding or watching anxiously
over the birth process,
and afterwards, over every little sneeze, wiggle or
cry.
The Breeder skips dinner parties because that litter is due
or the
babies have to be fed at eight.
She disregards birth fluids and puts mouth
to mouth to save a gasping newborn,
literally blowing life into a tiny,
helpless creature that may be the culmination of a lifetime of dreams.
A Breeders lap is a marvelous place
where generations of proud and noble
champions once snoozed.
A Breeders hands are strong and firm and often
soiled,
but ever so gentle and sensitive to the thrusts of a puppy's wet nose.
A Breeders back and knees are usually arthritic
from stooping, bending, and sitting in the birthing box,
but are strong
enough to enable the
breeder to Show the next choice pup to a Championship.
A Breeders shoulders are stooped and often heaped with abuse from competitors,
but they're wide enough to support
the weight of a thousand defeats and frustrations.
A Breeders arms are always able to
wield a mop, support an armful of puppies,
or lend a helping hand to a
newcomer.
A Breeders ears are wonderous things, sometimes red (from being talked
about)
or strangely shaped (from being pressed against a phone receiver),
often deaf to criticism,
yet always fine-tuned to the whimper of a sick
puppy.
A Breeders eyes are blurred from pedigree research and sometimes
blind to her own dog's faults,
but they are ever so keen to the competitions
faults and are always searching for the perfect specimen.
A Breeders brain is foggy on faces,
but it can recall pedigrees faster than
an IBM computer.
It's so full of knowledge that sometimes it blows a fuse,
it catalogues thousands of good bonings, fine ears, and perfect heads...
and
buries in the soul the failures and the ones that didn't turn out.
The
Breeders heart is often broken, but it beats strongly with hope
everlasting...
and it's always in the right place !
Oh, yes, there are
breeders,
and then,
there are BREEDERS!!
Author unknown